Streetwise
You know how to get around, avoid trouble, and track down vital pieces of information in urban and other settled environments. Use Avoid Trouble Streetwise can be used to avoid being caught in dangerous situations, such as blundering into a bad part of town, or knowing which parts of town are home to which gangs. A DC 15 Streetwise check is usually sufficient to get around in the city at night without running into danger. Gather Information Streetwise can be used to gather information about an area or a person in the area. This may include checking local bars, talking to the town gossip, or squeezing some members of the underworld for information. General information concerns local happenings, rumors, gossip, and the like. Specific information usually relates to a particular question. Restricted information isn’t generally known and requires you to locate someone with access to the information. Protected information is even harder to come by and might involve some danger, either for the one asking the questions or the one providing the answers. There’s a chance someone takes note of anyone asking about restricted or protected information. The GM decides when this is the case. In some situations, opposed Streetwise checks are appropriate to see if someone else notices your inquiries (and you notice theirs). If you accept 3 penalties on your check total, your inquiries avoid any notice. Finding Subjects You can use Streetwise to track down someone or something. Make a Streetwise check to pick up your target's trail and another for each hour you search, or when the trail becomes difficult to follow, such as when it moves to a different area of town. The DC and number of Streetwise checks required to find your target depend on the size of the community, as given on the table. For every 5 points you exceed the DC, you reduce the required number of checks by one, to a minimum of one. So a Survival result of 35 allows you to locate anyone in a vast metropolis in an hour's time. The DCs on the table assume the subject isn’t making any special effort to hide. People trying not to be found add Streetwise or Infiltration bonus to the DC to find them so long as they keep a low profile. Shortcut By knowing local traffic patterns, public transportation schedules, and having a good sense of the area, you can help get where you're going more quickly than most travelers could manage. In any situation where getting to a location or area in the city within a certain amount of time is important, make a Streetwise check (DC 10). If you succeed, you gain 1 bonus on the Reflex check (or whichever skill check is called for). For every additional 5 points you roll over the DC, you gain an additional bonus to the other check. If you are not driving a vehicle, or otherwise providing the means of locomotion, you can still relay this information to the character who is, and provide them with the bonus. Try Again Each additional Streetwise check requires additional time for each check. Action Gathering Information takes at least an hour, possibly several, at the GM’s discretion. You can cut the time for Gathering Information in half by taking 2 penalties. Special You can take 10 when making an Streetwise check for any use, but you cannot take 20. Extended An extended Streetwise check might be required for long-term survival on the streets of a city. Challenges The following Challenges are appropriate for Streetwise checks: * Discrete Inquiry: While looking for news and information, you keep a low profile. You increase your Streetwise check DC by +5, but you avoid leaving any clues about the information you seek. If your check fails, you may be detected as normal, but you still avoid spreading clues about what you were trying to find. * Gossip: When asking around for some needed information, you are willing to delve into the not-always-true world of the gossip-hounds. You may retry a gather information check as a free action (rather than the normal time) at 2 penalties to your check. The GM may choose to roll this for you to keep the result secret. If the check is successful, you gain the needed information. If it fails, you instead game some false information. You generally can't use Perception to determine whether or not this information is false, since gossip tends to get unintentionally distorted through each retelling. Category:Rulebook Category:Characters Category:Skills Category:Awareness